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Question about an external crossover

I have a pair of Snell Type A II speakers which I love. Consistently I am unimpressed by many Hi-Fi shops systems because I am used to listening to these.

They came with an external crossover which I would like to use, it has RCA inputs. Is it possible to modify this unit so that it has true balanced inputs, and without degrading the signal? Also what is the consensus, if this can be set up to accept balanced inputs, will the signal degradation be significant in a run of 20 ft. ( from the balanced outputs of the preamp)

I would like some distance between the turntables and the speakers for various reasons, and am thinking that the amps should be close to the speakers, using a high quality balanced cable to deliver the signal.

Hopefully someone can educate me on this subject.

Thank you for your responses..
ilikmangos
5 responses Add your response
jtwrace's avatar
jtwrace
425 posts
 
I like and use the Ashly 3.24 CL. Check it out here:

http://www.ashly.com/product/d_crossover-cl.htm
Post removed 
drew_eckhardt
394 posts
 
>Is it possible to modify this unit so that it has true balanced inputs, and without degrading the signal?

Sure. Use a Jensen input transformer or build an active circuit around an INA134.

If I had an active balanced output I'd just wire + to the RCA center pin and ground to ground - just 25' of interconnect is not enough to raise the noise floor of a decent solid state amplifier (I used to run 25' of interconnect between my preamp and active cross-over, because that was a lot less mess than 25' x 8 speaker cables)
electroid
283 posts
 
What she said......it has to be designed as balanced to be balanced. It isn't.

ET
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
An unbalanced electronic gizmo is hard to make balanced. You could 'fake' balance it with some cheap parts, but it would be no better (or it could be worse) than the original unbalanced unit.
A true blanced device has TWO equal parts mirrored around a common ground. (you would need twice as many parts, well designed to function as a balanced crossover)
I would say it is not a good idea to try and 'force' the crossover you now have into a usable configuration. It can be done, but it will be a juryrigged, compromised thing.
Biamping is only sometimes better, and I would say the experiment can be done, but it would be a waste of time with the current crossover.
Perhaps someday you can find one that is a true balanced design
Be happy with what you have!!
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